Bigger’s Twin Acres Drive-In Theatre launched October 17, 1948 with Danny Kaye in “The Kid From Brooklyn” (ad in photos). “Twin Acres” was dropped after the first season.
The Hiway Theatre Drive-In launched likely on this parcel or very close by on May 22, 1949 with “Julia Misbehaves.” It opened for another season on April 9, 1950 but was partially destroyed by a wind storm on June 8, 1950. The owner had no insurance and likely did not reopen.
The Mitchell Drive-In Theatre then launched here on April 9, 1955 with Robert Mitchum in “Blood on the Moon” followed by a formal opening on April 29, 1955.
The Oto Theatre launched for Midwest Amusement Circuit on November 26, 1936 with Doris Nolan in “The Man I Marry.” Commonwealth closed the venue in 1962.
The Pineview Drive-In launched May 19, 1955 with Gary Cooper in “Garden of Evil.“ Owner Dave Cole was open through 1997 but a wind storm ripped off part of the screen and - because of the expense of repairs - he did not reopen in 1998.
The Alamo Drafthouse Denton resumed operations on September 10, 2021 after an extended COVID-19 pandemic hiatus. The theatre had closed along with the rest of the locations on March 16, 2020. It briefly reopened in August of 2020 before closing for a year during the pandemic.
The Elite appears to have opened on June 16, 1911 with movies. The theatre switched to talkies and played “The Jazz Singer” on June 16, 1930. James W.Crouch sold the Elite Theatre to Fred Jungclaus taking ownership following the February 28, 1930 shows. Jungclaus renamed the venue as the Riviera Theatre beginning March 2, 1930 with Bebe Daniels in “Rio Rita.”
Though the Riviera was active into the 1960s, regular operation ceased following the September 15, 1954 showing of “Francis Joins the Wacs.” Chamber of Commerce, special interest commercial and public service screenings and holiday films appeared into at least 1966 at the Riviera.
The Ponca was closed July 31, 1954 by owner Glenn Hiatt. A new operator was identified in 1955 planning to reopen the theatre but appears to have not done so.
Alamo Drafthouse closed all of its locations for COVID-19 on March 16, 2020. The Cedars reopened briefly on August 24, 2020 before closing again following the October 6, 2020 showings. It then reopened almost one year later on September 3, 2021.
The Studio Movie Grill - Prosperity Village closed March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic after just three months of operation. The theatre had stated intent to reopen but, in bankruptcy court documents released in 2021, the circuit made the closure permanent on August 29, 2021 when the lease could not be renegotiated and was terminated.
A 1953 article says that the theatre had three different towers within its opening month. The first blew down in a major storm just hours after its grand opening on July 1st. The second screen was being installed when it was destroyed by a second storm. The third tower was installed in time for the Center’s grand reopening on July 12, 1953 - marking three screens for two nights of operation. Something of a record for a one-screen drive-in.
H.T. Hayes launched the 425-seat Rivoli on May 3, 1920 with Doris May in “23 ½ Hours' Leave.” On May. 7, 1929, the theatre began showing talkies on June 7, 1929 with a Gus Van and Joe Schenck short and a partial talkie.
Owned and operated by the Wisehart family since 1979, the theatre was twinned with Theatre One holding 231 patrons and Theatre Two with 70 seats for 301 total capacity. It celebrated its 100th anniversary with a short parade. It was still going in the 2020s.
The U.S.A. Theatre launched August 11, 1917 with William Night in “The Blue Streak” supported by Billie Ritchie in “The House of Terrible Scandals.” The improved theatre had a grand reopening on February 8, 1919 by Noah G. Brewer. The opening film was Dorothy Phillips in “Heart of Humanity” supported by Professor Manby on the Wurlitzer pipe organ. Fox Circuit took over the venue briefly as the Fox U.S.A. Theatre. The Fox U.S.A. closed on November 15, 1929 and relaunched on Thanksgiving now with Western Electric Sound and under the Fox Theatre nameplate.
The Fox received a major streamline moderne makeover reopening on June 7, 1940 with a Grand Reopening and Wallace Beery in “Twenty Mule Team.” The Fox closed October 15, 1951 with Hedy Lamarr in “Samson and Delilah.” The next night the New Fox Theatre opened and it has its own CinemaTreasure entry.
A spectacular opening for the New Fox Theatre was held on October 16, 1951 with Betty Grable in “Meet Me After The Show" supported by a live appearance by Rex Allen and a Goofy cartoon, “Get Rich Quick.”
The Rialto was opened by John Arthur Johnson in May of 1918 as an improvement to the town’s Opera House and three former nickelodeon-styled venues. In 1928, the theatre converted to sound to remain viable. On May 1, 1931, the venue received a new refresh relaunching very briefly as the Del-Har-Co Theatre with Joe E. Brown in “Maybe It’s Love.” The theatre reverted within weeks to the Rialto. In 1949, Earl Barclay moved to Shelby to manage the theater there. New operators came in and made changes.
On April 11, 1950, the theatre’s name was changed to the Burg Theatre. On August 7, 1955, the Burg converted to widescreen to present CinemaScope and Vista Vision films beginning with “There’s no Business Like Show Business.”
Loew’s Bayridge Theatre closed on October 13, 1959 with a double feature of Alan Ladd and Brandon deWilde in “Shane” and Heddy Lamar in “Samson and Delilah.” It also suggests that the theatre was gutted and equipped with gutters as a bowling center.
Correction: Closed October 8, 1959 with Kim Novak in “Middle of the Night” and was soon gutted to make way for a new supermarket. The article on its closure said it closed on the heels of the shuttering of the Endicott, Stanley, Electra and Bay Ridge as television was ending many neighborhood theater’s runs.
The Avenue U Theatre is listed as under construction in January of 1927 to open in October of 1927. As the theatre closed in 1987, that would time out with two 30-year leases so seems plausible. Also, it briefly switched to XXX adult films in 1984 (as noted) but - after protests - it returned to regular Hollywood fare closing on October 8, 1987 with Lou Diamond Phillips in “La Bamba.”
A plan - if not the plan - was drawn by architect Joseph M. Berlinger.
The local papers and trade press state that Perri Construction built the Mayfair and the Marine theaters as “near twins” to the plans of Joseph M. Berlinger. Whether true or not…
The local papers and trade press state that Perri Construction built the Marine and the Mayfair theaters as “near twins” to the plans of Joseph M. Berlinger. Whether true or not…
The Dewey makes a comeback with a grand reopening on October 1, 1960. “If you want a show in Dewey, You must patronize it” was the friendly opening statement. Apparently the town wanted a more modern theatre because the place was rehabbed and had a grand re-reopening as the Capri Theatre on July 11, 1963 with Walter Bell and his wife in charge. It relaunched with Tony Curtis in “40 Pounds of Trouble.”
The 800-seat Oklah Opera House opened September 25, 1907 opening with the play, “Miss Pochahontas.” Its address was was 105-107 West Third Street. It switched to films and became the Oklah Theatre. Ventilation appears to have been a weakness so the Oklah Airdome launched May 9, 1909 operating in the warm summer months through the 1915 season.
In 1916, the Oklah Theatre improved ventilation and the Airdome was not opened for the season with the space converted. A big hit for the Oklah Theatre was its 1916 presentation of “Birth of a Nation.” It also had a big audience paying tribute to the late President Teddy Roosevelt at a memorial service in 1919.
The Oklah went out of business following an April 4, 1925 showing of Mary Pickford in “Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall.” A temporary closure ad was posted followed by a complaint by the property owner about equipment being removed from the premises by the operator.
Blanche L. Cutler, then managing the Odeon, gave the theatre brand new projection and a new interior renaming it on June 1, 1925 as the Liberty Theatre and “Welcome Stranger” on the big screen. The theatre was wired for sound to remain viable. Griffith Amusement Circuit bought out the theatre with a grand reopening on September 15, 1934. Movies ended initially on June 4, 1939 with a screening of “Men With Wings.” The space was used for wrestling the remainder of the month.
The Odeon Theatre closed on June 30, 1939 with “Tarzan Finds a Son” citing end of lease. The Odeon Building on Johnstone retained its name so the Odeon officially moved into the Liberty Theatre Building retaining the Liberty name but operating as the Odeon Theatre. The operators then moved its future bookings “temporarily” to the Liberty Theatre Building as the Odeon beginning on July 1, 1939 with “Confessions of a Nazi Spy.” (The picture of the Odeon in Cinema Treasures is from December 31, 1939 with “Judge Hardy and Son” on the big screen.) The theatre closed following the June 2, 1942 screening of “Roxie Hart.” It was used for sporadic events during World War II until a 1945 remodeling plan was introduced.
The theatre was gutted in 1945 for the creation a more modern theatre to the plans of architect Jack Corgan. That theatre would become the Arrow Theatre. That included moving the former opera house’s interior from a two balcony and wooden main floor to a single concrete floor with one, 191-seat balcony for African American patrons. The 728-seat theatre launched November 1, 1946 with an Open House followed by a November 3, 1946 screening of “Home Sweet Homicide.”
This picture of the Odeon is from December 31, 1939 with “Judge Hardy and Son” on the big screen. The theatre would be gutted in 1945 and became the Arrow Theatre.
Bigger’s Twin Acres Drive-In Theatre launched October 17, 1948 with Danny Kaye in “The Kid From Brooklyn” (ad in photos). “Twin Acres” was dropped after the first season.
The Hiway Theatre Drive-In launched likely on this parcel or very close by on May 22, 1949 with “Julia Misbehaves.” It opened for another season on April 9, 1950 but was partially destroyed by a wind storm on June 8, 1950. The owner had no insurance and likely did not reopen.
The Mitchell Drive-In Theatre then launched here on April 9, 1955 with Robert Mitchum in “Blood on the Moon” followed by a formal opening on April 29, 1955.
The Oto Theatre launched for Midwest Amusement Circuit on November 26, 1936 with Doris Nolan in “The Man I Marry.” Commonwealth closed the venue in 1962.
The Pineview Drive-In launched May 19, 1955 with Gary Cooper in “Garden of Evil.“ Owner Dave Cole was open through 1997 but a wind storm ripped off part of the screen and - because of the expense of repairs - he did not reopen in 1998.
The Alamo Drafthouse Denton resumed operations on September 10, 2021 after an extended COVID-19 pandemic hiatus. The theatre had closed along with the rest of the locations on March 16, 2020. It briefly reopened in August of 2020 before closing for a year during the pandemic.
The Elite appears to have opened on June 16, 1911 with movies. The theatre switched to talkies and played “The Jazz Singer” on June 16, 1930. James W.Crouch sold the Elite Theatre to Fred Jungclaus taking ownership following the February 28, 1930 shows. Jungclaus renamed the venue as the Riviera Theatre beginning March 2, 1930 with Bebe Daniels in “Rio Rita.”
Though the Riviera was active into the 1960s, regular operation ceased following the September 15, 1954 showing of “Francis Joins the Wacs.” Chamber of Commerce, special interest commercial and public service screenings and holiday films appeared into at least 1966 at the Riviera.
The Ponca was closed July 31, 1954 by owner Glenn Hiatt. A new operator was identified in 1955 planning to reopen the theatre but appears to have not done so.
Alamo Drafthouse closed all of its locations for COVID-19 on March 16, 2020. The Cedars reopened briefly on August 24, 2020 before closing again following the October 6, 2020 showings. It then reopened almost one year later on September 3, 2021.
The Studio Movie Grill - Prosperity Village closed March 16, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic after just three months of operation. The theatre had stated intent to reopen but, in bankruptcy court documents released in 2021, the circuit made the closure permanent on August 29, 2021 when the lease could not be renegotiated and was terminated.
A 1953 article says that the theatre had three different towers within its opening month. The first blew down in a major storm just hours after its grand opening on July 1st. The second screen was being installed when it was destroyed by a second storm. The third tower was installed in time for the Center’s grand reopening on July 12, 1953 - marking three screens for two nights of operation. Something of a record for a one-screen drive-in.
H.T. Hayes launched the 425-seat Rivoli on May 3, 1920 with Doris May in “23 ½ Hours' Leave.” On May. 7, 1929, the theatre began showing talkies on June 7, 1929 with a Gus Van and Joe Schenck short and a partial talkie.
Owned and operated by the Wisehart family since 1979, the theatre was twinned with Theatre One holding 231 patrons and Theatre Two with 70 seats for 301 total capacity. It celebrated its 100th anniversary with a short parade. It was still going in the 2020s.
The U.S.A. Theatre launched August 11, 1917 with William Night in “The Blue Streak” supported by Billie Ritchie in “The House of Terrible Scandals.” The improved theatre had a grand reopening on February 8, 1919 by Noah G. Brewer. The opening film was Dorothy Phillips in “Heart of Humanity” supported by Professor Manby on the Wurlitzer pipe organ. Fox Circuit took over the venue briefly as the Fox U.S.A. Theatre. The Fox U.S.A. closed on November 15, 1929 and relaunched on Thanksgiving now with Western Electric Sound and under the Fox Theatre nameplate.
The Fox received a major streamline moderne makeover reopening on June 7, 1940 with a Grand Reopening and Wallace Beery in “Twenty Mule Team.” The Fox closed October 15, 1951 with Hedy Lamarr in “Samson and Delilah.” The next night the New Fox Theatre opened and it has its own CinemaTreasure entry.
April 10, 1951 launch of the Plains Drive-In with Randolph Scott in “The Nevadan” and the 10th Avenue Gang in “Military Academy.”
A spectacular opening for the New Fox Theatre was held on October 16, 1951 with Betty Grable in “Meet Me After The Show" supported by a live appearance by Rex Allen and a Goofy cartoon, “Get Rich Quick.”
Opening film on February 3, 1949 was Dennis Morgan in “One Sunday Afternoon.”
The Rialto was opened by John Arthur Johnson in May of 1918 as an improvement to the town’s Opera House and three former nickelodeon-styled venues. In 1928, the theatre converted to sound to remain viable. On May 1, 1931, the venue received a new refresh relaunching very briefly as the Del-Har-Co Theatre with Joe E. Brown in “Maybe It’s Love.” The theatre reverted within weeks to the Rialto. In 1949, Earl Barclay moved to Shelby to manage the theater there. New operators came in and made changes.
On April 11, 1950, the theatre’s name was changed to the Burg Theatre. On August 7, 1955, the Burg converted to widescreen to present CinemaScope and Vista Vision films beginning with “There’s no Business Like Show Business.”
Loew’s Bayridge Theatre closed on October 13, 1959 with a double feature of Alan Ladd and Brandon deWilde in “Shane” and Heddy Lamar in “Samson and Delilah.” It also suggests that the theatre was gutted and equipped with gutters as a bowling center.
Archirect: Joseph M. Berlinger
Correction: Fox Ritz
Correction: Closed October 8, 1959 with Kim Novak in “Middle of the Night” and was soon gutted to make way for a new supermarket. The article on its closure said it closed on the heels of the shuttering of the Endicott, Stanley, Electra and Bay Ridge as television was ending many neighborhood theater’s runs.
The Avenue U Theatre is listed as under construction in January of 1927 to open in October of 1927. As the theatre closed in 1987, that would time out with two 30-year leases so seems plausible. Also, it briefly switched to XXX adult films in 1984 (as noted) but - after protests - it returned to regular Hollywood fare closing on October 8, 1987 with Lou Diamond Phillips in “La Bamba.”
A plan - if not the plan - was drawn by architect Joseph M. Berlinger.
The local papers and trade press state that Perri Construction built the Mayfair and the Marine theaters as “near twins” to the plans of Joseph M. Berlinger. Whether true or not…
The local papers and trade press state that Perri Construction built the Marine and the Mayfair theaters as “near twins” to the plans of Joseph M. Berlinger. Whether true or not…
That is theatre manager Albert L. Greene (sorry for the delay of response).
The Dewey makes a comeback with a grand reopening on October 1, 1960. “If you want a show in Dewey, You must patronize it” was the friendly opening statement. Apparently the town wanted a more modern theatre because the place was rehabbed and had a grand re-reopening as the Capri Theatre on July 11, 1963 with Walter Bell and his wife in charge. It relaunched with Tony Curtis in “40 Pounds of Trouble.”
The 800-seat Oklah Opera House opened September 25, 1907 opening with the play, “Miss Pochahontas.” Its address was was 105-107 West Third Street. It switched to films and became the Oklah Theatre. Ventilation appears to have been a weakness so the Oklah Airdome launched May 9, 1909 operating in the warm summer months through the 1915 season.
In 1916, the Oklah Theatre improved ventilation and the Airdome was not opened for the season with the space converted. A big hit for the Oklah Theatre was its 1916 presentation of “Birth of a Nation.” It also had a big audience paying tribute to the late President Teddy Roosevelt at a memorial service in 1919.
The Oklah went out of business following an April 4, 1925 showing of Mary Pickford in “Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall.” A temporary closure ad was posted followed by a complaint by the property owner about equipment being removed from the premises by the operator.
Blanche L. Cutler, then managing the Odeon, gave the theatre brand new projection and a new interior renaming it on June 1, 1925 as the Liberty Theatre and “Welcome Stranger” on the big screen. The theatre was wired for sound to remain viable. Griffith Amusement Circuit bought out the theatre with a grand reopening on September 15, 1934. Movies ended initially on June 4, 1939 with a screening of “Men With Wings.” The space was used for wrestling the remainder of the month.
The Odeon Theatre closed on June 30, 1939 with “Tarzan Finds a Son” citing end of lease. The Odeon Building on Johnstone retained its name so the Odeon officially moved into the Liberty Theatre Building retaining the Liberty name but operating as the Odeon Theatre. The operators then moved its future bookings “temporarily” to the Liberty Theatre Building as the Odeon beginning on July 1, 1939 with “Confessions of a Nazi Spy.” (The picture of the Odeon in Cinema Treasures is from December 31, 1939 with “Judge Hardy and Son” on the big screen.) The theatre closed following the June 2, 1942 screening of “Roxie Hart.” It was used for sporadic events during World War II until a 1945 remodeling plan was introduced.
The theatre was gutted in 1945 for the creation a more modern theatre to the plans of architect Jack Corgan. That theatre would become the Arrow Theatre. That included moving the former opera house’s interior from a two balcony and wooden main floor to a single concrete floor with one, 191-seat balcony for African American patrons. The 728-seat theatre launched November 1, 1946 with an Open House followed by a November 3, 1946 screening of “Home Sweet Homicide.”
This picture of the Odeon is from December 31, 1939 with “Judge Hardy and Son” on the big screen. The theatre would be gutted in 1945 and became the Arrow Theatre.